A Book's Cover
by Ryuujin Blue Z
Summary: Sometimes things aren't what they seem, and the people you thought you knew turn out to be complete strangers. It's just like the old saying...


(Opening Author's Notes: This is my first true attempt at any form of fan fiction in a very long while. Obvious it's based on The Legend of Zelda series of video games, though I've added some twists of my own. It stars a very important character in the series, one of the ones are so much so the games wouldn't be the same without him. Also, this fic is going to grow much darker as time goes on. Right now, this introduction chapter isn't at all graphic. However when we get into the meat of it they'll be lots of blood and gore. For the moment this will be placed as PG-13, but it might need bumped up. We'll see. Lastly, I'm afraid I'd like to see a couple reviews before I post anymore. I'd say about five should convince me there's enough interest to go on. So, if you like the fic then review! I'll be waiting, and I hope you enjoy it!)

**"A Book's Cover"**

Chapter One

_**Page One**_

_ It has been a long time; I almost thought I would never see it again. Home, such a simple word…but it is not the word that matters. What is important is the feelings the word brings to mind. The same holds true for a name, it is not the name that makes the person. A name cannot shape a life; it cannot hold any meaning on its own. What gives purpose to a name is the person that possesses it._

_Most people call me Link. As I said, that is not who I am but rather a label through which most others would identify me. The title, as it were, was forced upon me nearly from birth and based solely upon my resemblance to a famous hero. The imposter, the man who dresses and looks as I do, his name might well be Link as well. However every time I encountered him he seemed somehow more sinister, counter to the order of the world. Regardless, I do not care. I will respond to whatever they wish to call me, again it is merely a word despite what those that use it wish to believe.  
  
The only thing that matters to me is doing what I need to do. It does not matter what that is, so long as I am allowed to fulfill my desire to finish the job. That is all that is important to me. Once my mission is complete, then I can experience what I have long dreamed of.   
  
Peace. I want to live in peace, to be happy until the end of my life. To do that, I do what I'm told to do. I suppose everyone wants peace though, which is why I don't bother to think about the people I most likely hurt along the way.

* * *

_ "Oh well, it does not matter…" The swordsman's voice was softer than one would expect, quiet and serene like the forest clearing he now found himself in.  
"Pay attention Link! You're to collect the Three Shadows. The Shadow of Courage, the Shadow of Wisdom, and the Shadow of Power. Once you find all three, then you'll have earned the right to face me again!" With that ultimatum Ganondorf, the "Great King of Evil" disappeared from sight in a flash of dark violet energy. The black-light given off by the transportation briefly lit the surrounding area, affording one a brief glimpse further into the woods than the moonlight allowed.  
  
It had taken him a while to get to the circular break in the trees in the first place, at Ganondorf's request no less, and now the large man of the desert had decided that he was not fit to see him? Normally the swordsman would not have stood for such a thing, but this time he had no choice. Ganondorf was his objective, and if he insisted that an inane task be completed first then it would be so.

As he turned to leave the way he had entered into both the clearing and the forest, he noticed a small slip of paper in the moonlit and dewy grass where the evil lord had stood moments before hand. Quietly walking the three steps over, he knelt and lifted the parchment from its resting place. The words were in the desert tongue, but he had made it a point to learn the language and so it was not a problem to translate it.  
  
"Courage dwells with those who lack it. Wisdom is hidden in the darkest depths. Power sits where only the weak can see."

Riddles. It was always riddles...At least the first was obvious enough though. It hinted at the land of the Forest People. They were well known for their cowardice, and conveniently enough happened to live in the very forest he found himself in the middle of. The more thought put towards where this "Shadow" might be found, the more he came to suspect that he knew where it could be located.  
  
There was a temple, nearby if memory served, in what was the exact center of the forest. Of course, with this information in hand he had no choice but to begin the trip there. Despite it being well into the night the moon cast more than enough light to see the path, and thus good time was made towards his goal.   
  
The sounds of the forest, small prey animals scurrying around the underbrush and the larger predator animals stalking them could be heard everywhere. Hoots, howls, squeaks, it was a peaceful melody of nature that it seemed only he was allowed to hear as his way was made through the trees. He didn't pay any attention to the animals though, and they avoided him in the like.   
  
Despite heavy equipment, a large shield strapped over the sheath of a trusty sword and the plethora of other items stashed behind the guarding tool, he moved without a sound. Along side his stealth was his speed, which made the fairly long trip all that much shorter.  
  
However as luck, or perhaps through some design on Ganondorf's part, would have it the temple he sought found itself closer to the teenaged adventurer than the young man had previously assumed.

"It should not be much further, unless my memory has grown faulty…" He thought to himself, ever focused on the task at hand rather than adrift on the seas of fanciful thinking.

His suspicions on the nearness of his goal soon bore the fruit of proof as he stepped out of the relative darkness under the trees and into the brilliant, eerily bone white light of the full moon.

The obviously ancient stone structure seemed to suddenly leap from the trees to loom before him in the most darkly menacing and foreboding way a building could.  
  
"So, this is the fearsome Temple of the Sands. It fails to impress." Those words were spoken aloud, as if he wished the sacred place to him his mocking musings.

As for the temple's appearance, it stuck out like a Zora on Death Mountain. It was about three stories tall, likely with many more floors below his feet. At what could only be assumed to be the top-most portion of the second floor there could be seen a pair of great openings. Streaming from these with a slight 'hiss' was a pair of perpetually flowing jets of sand. Beneath them formed twin mounds of the granule substance, with the gapping maw of an entrance soundly between them. Cracks in the dark tan brickwork, both natural and intentional, gave the illusion of wrinkles on a human face. Taken in all together from the sand-spewing "eyes", to the lack of nearly all decoration above them, down to the unobstructed opening and jowl-like dunes the temple had the appearance of a weeping, time- and sand-worn old man of the desert. The entire desert theme of the temple fit with the single symbol in the elder's "forehead", three wavy lines that translated from the desert tongue into "sand".

There was a fearsomeness, almost a palpable aura, to the temple though. It was strong enough to cause the warrior to pause in his stride, heart filled with doubt. His right hand slowly rose to his face as the outline of three triangles forming one large on appeared in the dark leather. Of the three, the bottom-left most one began to glow a bright white at a glance from the young man.  
  
"If this is what I must do…then it shall be done." He swallowed hard, visibly trembling as he forced the fear in his soul back and began the short journey towards the dark opening of his destination.   
  
(Closing Author's Notes: Well, thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. If you did, or even if you didn't, review away! However if you liked it, and are a fan of Teen Titans, I suggest you go check out the fic of a friend of mine. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link, so search for Lemonfresh and read his "Evermore" story. Make sure to review it as well! Thanks for your time, and take care!)


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